11/10/2013: Discovering the Gospel
15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importancehttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Cor+15:1-11#fen-NIV-28722a a: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Cor+15:1-11#fen-NIV-28724b b and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. ------------------------- 1st Corinthians probably written just 20 years after the death of Jesus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Epistle_to_the_Corinthians) Lots of things we can talk about, but a lot of other Christians believe other things on some of them. "Major in the majors." A lot of people think Christianity is something other than it is. 1. Jesus The gospel is Christ. Usually the word was meant to announce a world-changing event. In other religions, founders are teachers, not saviors; the core is a set of directions about what you must do. Christianity is not advice, it's an account of what's been done. Nothing you can do/have ever done can be the basis for your acceptance with God. All through what Jesus has done; what we do is the response. 2. Sin and substitution Sin is our most fundamental human problem. If God sustains everything we owe him everything, but we fail in that. Personal and legal alienation from God. Jesus couldn't just be a teacher because of alienation. Greek preposition for, "on behalf of" Language of marketplace (redemption), language of battlefield (Jesus defeating sin), language of the law court; in each example Jesus substitutes. Cultural objections Is this a primitive bloodthirsty idea?: Like ancient pagan religions? E.g. the Iliad (Agamemmnon kills his daughter). Packer: In paganism man propitiates his Gods, in Christianity God propitiates his own wrath to himself. The most egalitarian doctrine: Even Paul, the most religious Hebrew, says his sins deserve death too. 3. History and resurrection Assures and secures our past and future salvation: Past: The debt was paid when Jesus was sprung from death (the receipt). Future: Tolkien: we long to escape time and death, love without parting, communication with non-human beings, defeat of evil Paul's 500 witnesses are a footnote 4. Astonishing transforming grace Bunyan: Your righteousness is in heaven (the grace penny drops) Grace still changes you (undeserved, so it humbles you, unconditional, so it brings you back up) Fills you with wonder - Paul is kind of amazed at himself